stv@qvax2.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) (12/05/89)
As you can see by my title, this is a rather elementary question. If
this has been covered before in this newsgroup: sorry, I missed it.
I have two AT clones. I want to write a program on one that can
randomly access a database on the other. I have several programs that
purport to be "NETBIOS compatible" and/or say that they support record
locking so that they can be used on networked PCs. For example: Q & A.
The most popular networking system appears to be Novell. With Novell,
it seems that the disk drive that has the database on it appears as a
pseudo-drive (say, "Z:") on the other machine. I can run Q&A on both
machines, and tell the one without the database that the database is on
that "Z:" drive.
So, I buy a couple of Ethernet or Arcnet cards and some coax, and a
Novell Netware starter package. Wow! I'm out about $2000!!! That's
not exactly what I want. TOPS and Banyan Vines are, I think, just as
pricey.
I don't need speed. A 9600 baud serial link would be fine. Bare
minimum, I could write:
1. a "daemon"-type program to run on the AT that has the
database on it, that just listens on COM1 for database
access requests, and
2. a driver for the other AT that accepts database requests
from the other program and sends them out COM1.
Like I say, I could write this code, but I get the feeling that I would
be re-inventing the wheel.
Okay, here's an "EasyLAN Starter Kit" for $219 (retail). [ This is from
PC Magazine Vol 6 Nbr 12, June 87, so I'm not sure they're in business
anymore, but I've seen other such systems recently.] EasyLAN uses a
serial port on each machine, and includes a 30-foot, five-wire cable.
It says: "Supports the NETBIOS interface." For the money, I get the
cable, two manuals, and two sets of software. Will this be all that I
need? Based on the PC Mag article and the calls I made to the EasyLAN
people a few months ago, I don't think so.
It doesn't appear that it get the "Z:" drive, so I can't tell Q&A that
the database is on the other machine. It looks like I still have to
write some driver code. I don't think it tells how to do this in the
EasyLAN manual, which assumes I know how to make NETBIOS calls. Which
I don't. Do I still have to buy a copy of NETBIOS, too? Where is it
for sale? Egghead Software, maybe?
Or, forget NETBIOS. How about a NCSA Telnet plus SLIP (both Public
Domain/shareware or some such?)? Are these easy to interface with?
Or, how about dumb terminal emulation on the AT without the database,
and a program that provides COMMAND.COM access on the database AT?
I'm not even sure what questions I should be asking you here. Are
there any good books about "how to write programs for networked PCs"?
Books on NETBIOS? Someone guessed that RFC-1001 would be helpful.
Where do I get copies of RFCs? I guess my bottom-line question is:
has anybody solved the problem I've described above FOR UNDER $500?
If so, please post or email me your suggestions.
--
Steve Vance
{hplabs,lll-winken,pacbell}!qantel!stv
qantel!stv@lll-winken.llnl.gov
Qantel Business Computers, Hayward, CApaul@csnz.co.nz (Paul Gillingwater) (12/13/89)
In article <631@qvax2.UUCP> stv@qantel.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) writes: >I have two AT clones. I want to write a program on one that can >randomly access a database on the other. I have several programs that >purport to be "NETBIOS compatible" and/or say that they support record >locking so that they can be used on networked PCs. For example: Q & A. >has anybody solved the problem I've described above FOR UNDER $500? I solved this problem for myself by buying a product called Lantastic. It's a peer-to-peer local area network that provides full remote file access and record locking, and is nearly 100% Netbios compatible. Retail price should be well under US$500, including all software, cables, interface cards, manual etc. I got mine for around US$360. Just a satisfied customer. -- Paul Gillingwater, Computer Sciences of New Zealand Limited Domain: paul@csnz.co.nz Bang: uunet!vuwcomp!dsiramd!csnz!paul Call Magic Tower BBS V21/23/22/22bis 24 hrs NZ+64 4 767 326 SpringBoard BBS for Greenies! V22/22bis/HST NZ+64 4 896 016
JRD@cc.usu.edu (Joe Doupnik) (12/13/89)
Steve, Novell NetWare Entry Level 1 is under $500 and Ethernet boards, just to make performance high, cost about $200 (Western Digital Wd8003E's). With that you get all you wanted, and more. It pays to shop around for lan prices, even with NetWare suppliers. RS232 solutions will be v. slow, natch. NetBios is an interface standard invented by IBM (by their supplier, but IBM has the copywrite of my PC Lan Tech Ref) and typically refers to regular LANs underneath. Thus each NetBios implementation provides the same interface, +/-, but also couples to a particular kind of network interface and is thus vendor dependent. NetBios comes with NetWare and with other major networking products. NetBios itself provides no disk redirection and all the other things people associate with lans, it is simply a communications interface. Joe D.
stv@qvax2.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) (12/20/89)
In article <15265@cc.usu.edu> JRD@cc.usu.edu (Joe Doupnik) writes: >Steve, > Novell NetWare Entry Level 1 is under $500 I have a Novell price list. Here are some list prices: Netware for Mac $200 Netware Anywhere $395 ELS Netware LVI I V2.02/A $695 ELS Netware LVI II V2.12 $1495 ELS Netware LVI III V2.15 $1895 Are you saying that the third item, above, can be purchased for less than $500? Is that all that I would need in order to link two machines? Can you describe what I will get with that? > and Ethernet boards, just >to make performance high, cost about $200 (Western Digital Wd8003E's). Are you saying that Ethernet is optional? Will Novell work over an RS232 serial link? The WD8003E's require (at least) thin coax, right? What about twisted pair Ethernet that I've been hearing about? > ... It pays to shop around for lan prices, >even with NetWare suppliers. If I do have to do something with Novell someday, I don't think I'm going to like it. > RS232 solutions will be v. slow, natch. That's okay in my specific application. I'm just hitting a database once in awhile. > NetBios is an interface standard invented by IBM ... I found a couple of books on NetBIOS: "Inside NetBIOS" and "C Programmer's Guide to NetBIOS". They explain pretty well what it is. Thanks, Joe. =================== Right now, I am investigating Easy-Net, which I got from the SIMTEL20 archives: PD1:<MSDOS.LAN>EASY-NET.ARC. It is a $50 shareware product that appears to do what I want to do (see my previous posting). I am also investigating Lantastic, which a couple of people have recommended. I will post the results of my research in a couple of weeks. -- Steve Vance {hplabs,lll-winken,pacbell}!qantel!stv qantel!stv@lll-winken.llnl.gov Qantel Business Computers, Hayward, CA